


The New Age — Can I Ever Leave The Old?

by metalhawk



Category: The Transformers (IDW Generation One)
Genre: Flashbacks, M/M, Triggers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-05
Updated: 2017-08-05
Packaged: 2018-12-11 13:47:38
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,283
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11715633
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/metalhawk/pseuds/metalhawk
Summary: Deadlock is still a part of him. And Deadlock won't let Drift forget that.





	The New Age — Can I Ever Leave The Old?

Swerve slid his drink over the smooth bartop from the other end of the counter, and Drift caught it in his servo and drank it down. His audials picked up on everyone's conversation, as he came alone, he had no distraction.

Their words ran free in his helm, and he hones in on a particular conversation before his circuits got overheated with information.

"This is sooo weird," one mech—Trailbreaker says.

"What is?" First Aid asks.

"I don't know. All of it. I'm on a ship looking for these possibly fake dudes and we've let the new age begin on Cybertron—"

Drift stills, his face goes blank.

" _From now on, you shall be known as Deadlock," Megatron said to him, promising a new future for Drift—for Deadlock. "You are a Decepticon warrior, and you will fight at my side."_

_Megatron turned to address the crowd. "What say you all? Will you join him? Will you join our fight?"_

_Yells filled his audials._

_Megatron grinned, putting a servo on his shoulder. "Then, **let the new age begin**_."

"Let the new age begin," Drift said. No, not Drift. Deadlock.

The 'bot beside him, Riptide, gave him an odd look. "What?"

Deadlock stood, punching Riptide across the faceplate. Riptide yelled, falling off his stool and on to the floor, and Swerve ran over and asked him what in the pit he thought he was doing. Deadlock simply threw his glass straight into the minibot's helm, knocking him out.

Rung, conversing with a patient on the other side of the bar, quickly halted his conversation and called someone on his comlink, alarmed.

Deadlock averted his attention to Trailbreaker, he hardly remembered why, he just wanted to kill him.

The wasted mech had the decency to throw his arm around First Aid in defense, and his shield came out involuntarily as Deadlock punched him. Deadlock was thrown backwards, over the counter and smashing into multiple glasses.

His attention moved again to the bots running in and out of the bar, mostly on the ones moving to him. Ultra Magnus, Rodimus, and Megatron.

Megatron. (Why was Megatron with Autobots...? No matter.)

"Lord Megatron," he says, smirking. "Don't worry. I've got this."

Megatron looks surprised. Odd. Maybe he's blown back by Deadlock's talent.

Ultra Magnus moves towards him, kneeing him straight in the waste tanks. Deadlock hunches over, and falls backwards, but then pulls out his swords and lunges.

"Drift! Stop it!" Rodimus yells.

"My name..." He slashes violently at Ultra Magnus. "is not..." Rodimus moves towards him. Deadlock pushes him backwards with a his renowned strength. "...Drift!"

Megatron strides towards him. "Lord Megatron, what—!"  
  
Megatron grabs his shoulders from behind, and Deadlock writhes against him. "I didn't betray you!" He yells, finally wiggling out of his grasp.

When Megatron tries again, Deadlock's prominent survival instincts kick in. Everyone is his enemy now. His sword narrowly misses Megatron's neck, only leaving a slit on his cables.

He gets into his defensive stance, readying himself for Ultra Magnus's next attack.

"Magnus, no!" Rodimus shouts over the noise of people yelling and running out the door. "Let me handle him!"

Rodimus isn't prepared to handle him, Deadlock thinks. Rodimus walks cautiously towards him.

"This isn't you, Drift," he says.

"Who else could I be?" Deadlock grins at him. "I have a knack for this kind of thing."  
  
"You also are the most loyal and loving and beautiful mech I know," Rodimus says. "You've moved past this."

Deadlock is done wasting time on Rodimus. He isn't slow about it, he plunges his blade through Rodimus's torso.  
  
Rodimus sputter and chokes, Deadlock pulls his blade out and watches.   
  
Ultra Magnus gapes. "Rodimus!" Megatron runs towards the two of them, but Rodimus urgently waves him off.

Rodimus falls forward, into Deadlock. Deadlock goes to push him on to the floor, but Rodimus quickly wraps an arm around his neck and spins Deadlock around. Deadlock's back presses into Rodimus's bleeding stomach.

Rodimus's arm tightens around Deadlock's neck. He kicks, but Rodimus leans back on to the bar, lifting Deadlock's pedes into the air.

A punch hits him in the side of the faceplate, and everything goes dark.

___________________

Rodimus watches Drift, passed out on the berth slab, a giant dent on his face. Ratchet patches up the stab wound his earned, after lecturing him about how it could've pierced this or ruined that. Rodimus didn't bring himself to care about that when Drift was back, safe and sound.

Then Drift starts mumbling the names.

They both knows all of them by now. Rodimus closes his optics. Ratchet sighs and presses his lips together.

When Rodimus recharges beside Drift, he's awaken in the middle of the cycle by all the designations of those that Drift killed. Rodimus can only pull him closer.

When Drift comes to the medibay to chat with Ratchet, he falls asleep and starts to mumble. Ratchet wakes him up gently, not knowing what nightmares he's experiencing.

"I didn't...no! No! I'm...I'm sorry! I don't know! I'm so sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry no no no no no—!" Drift says, still not awake, twisting and writhing on the berth slab.   
  
Despite Ratchet's protests, Rodimus jumps up from the slab and kneels at Drift's bedside, shaking him awake.

Drift jumps up, fans spinning noisily and playing hot to the touch, optics wide. Rodimus sees him realize that he's done it again, he's become Deadlock again and couldn't stop himself.

"Who..." he looks at Rodimus, burdened optics searching Rodimus's, Ratchet's. "...who did I kill now?"

"You didn't kill anyone, Drift," Ratchet tells him.

Drift only looks partially relieved.

Rodimus presses his chassis into the edge of the berth, trying to keep Drift from seeing the wound for as long as possible.

Drift's optics find their way down to Rodimus. He scans Rodimus's face, his aura. "What are you hiding from me, Rodimus?" He asks, breathless.

"I—nothing."

"I hurt you, didn't I?"

"A little."

"Show me."

Rodimus looks back to Ratchet, skeptical. And Ratchet nods at him. Drift was going to find out at some point.

Rodimus leans back, and Drift looks at his wound with a pained and panicked expression.

"Oh. Oh no. I—I'm so sorry, Roddy, I don't know what I was doing—" Rodimus kisses him, crashing his lips down on his in a last ditch effort to get him to calm down.

"It's okay. I didn't die. Tell him, doc," Rodimus smiles softly at Drift.

"Rodimus will live. It's only minor fuel line damage. You know I've fixed worse."

"Did...did I hurt anyone else?" Drift asks quietly.

"Riptide's only scratched, Swerve got knocked out, Megatron got his throat slit...but they're all going to be recover by tomorrow," Ratchet says. He's not going to sugarcoat their injuries. Drift would get the cold truth out of someone if he did.

Drift looks down at his servos, at his swords. "I...I don't know if I can ever escape him."

"He's not you anymore, Drift," Rodimus takes his servo.

"No, but he's still a part of me," Drift says. "I don't know if I can live without him or not."

Ratchet walks over, and puts his hand on Drift's shoulder. "You have changed. Deadlock can never fully take over because you are stronger than you were before. Trust me. I can see the difference."

Drift knows. He can recall how different he was when he met Ratchet all those years ago, after he'd nearly overdosed on circuit boosters.

Maybe he can defeat Deadlock. Or maybe Deadlock will always be there to haunt him.

Either way, Drift tells himself as he looks at the mechs around him, he has support.

 


End file.
